


Clueless

by WaffleDogOfficial



Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Romance, But medical procedures are barely mentioned, Clueless Sakura, F/F, Flirting, Idiots in Love, Medical Clinic Setting, One Shot, Post-Canon, Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24747202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaffleDogOfficial/pseuds/WaffleDogOfficial
Summary: Ino laughed at that before smirking up at her. “Well, if no men are tickling your fancy right now, maybe you should look somewhere else.”“Look where?”“Maybe you don’t need a man at all.”
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 8
Kudos: 146





	Clueless

Alone in her examination office, Sakura jotted down notes on her clipboard.

Kurenai was due to arrive for a regular checkup for Mirai but the retired shinobi had sent a message that she was running late. Bored, Sakura took the opportunity to rest, brainstorming ways to improve bedside manner for a future meeting with the medical staff of Konoha.

As she became lost in her work, a knock on her office door broke her out of her reverie. Looking up, Sakura checked the clock. Only a few minutes had passed and Kurenai should still be on her way to her office.

Confused, she turned her attention to the door, expecting a nurse or a messenger. “What is it?”

“It’s me, Billboard Brow! Can I come in?”

A smile tugged at Sakura’s lips and her body felt a thousand pounds lighter. Especially after the Fourth Shinobi War, she could never get tired of being in Ino’s presence. 

Her heart beating faster in her chest, Sakura answered. “Sure! Come in, Ino Pig!”

Ino didn’t hesitate before pushing the door open and walking in. Her face was flushed and she held herself tentatively, the palm of her right hand squeezing the top of her left arm. The other shinobi was biting her lip, beads of sweat on her forehead. While she smiled, it was clear that she was putting effort into not showing Sakura a grimace instead.

“Ino!” Shoving her pen and notebook away, Sakura ran to Ino’s side, grabbing gently onto her right shoulder as she examined what looked like an injury on her upper arm. “What happened?”

“Oh, this?” Ino shrugged. “It’s just a flesh wound. Shikamaru, Chouji, and I just returned from a mission, so I haven’t had time to fully heal it yet. I thought maybe you could help.”

Sakura nodded, biting her lip. “Sit down over there,” she ordered. “I’ll take a look.”

Without protest, Ino allowed Sakura to lead her to the examination table, where she sat at the edge with a groan. Ino took her palm off of her forearm, allowing Sakura to inspect the injury.

To her relief, it was not bleeding and was already half-healed. As Ino had stated, it _was_ just a flesh wound.

“Geez, you had me worried there for a second, Ino Pig,” Sakura sighed. “Considering how red you looked when you walked in.”

“I wasn’t red!” Ino shouted, indignant, while her blushing face betrayed her.

Sakura rolled her eyes, too tired to argue with Ino. “Whatever, Ino. Just lie down while I work on closing the wound.”

Without argument, Ino lied down on the examination table, staring into Sakura’s eyes with a pained smile. “Shouldn’t take long to heal, right, Billboard Brow?”

Sakura shook her head as she called upon her chakra, her hands glowing with the Healing Palm Jutsu. She placed her hands on Ino’s upper arm, making the other woman shudder involuntarily and turn away.

“Why didn’t you heal this yourself anyway?” Sakura asked as her chakra began to stitch the injury closed. “Shouldn’t you be able to heal it? I know you’re not a full medic-nin, but you know the basics at the very least.”

“I ran out of chakra,” Ino admitted. “Chouji got more injured than I did, so I used all my chakra fixing him. I had barely enough left to patch myself up.” Indeed, the wound looked only half-healed.

Sakura hummed thoughtfully, using more chakra to improve blood circulation. “But why come to me? Shouldn’t you have gone to urgent care once you returned?”

“Because you’re a medic-nin!” Ino pouted, making her face scrunch up in a way that made Sakura’s heart beat faster.

“You do know I’m focused on pediatrics now, right?” Sakura tried to ignore her ever-quickening pulse. She wondered if her friend realized how cute she looked when she pouted like that.

“I didn’t want to take away valuable time and resources from the shinobi at urgent care!” Ino argued.

“But _my_ time is fine to waste?” Sakura asked, not sure if she should be offended or amused. 

Ino shrugged, and then winced when the movement aggravated her injury. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. 

While it was true that she had more free time since she had started focusing on pediatrics, she still had mountains of work. The Konoha medical system could not fix itself, after all. It was no wonder Tsunade had practically forced the position of Hokage onto Kakashi.

“You’re lucky Kurenai-sensei is running late,” Sakura grumbled. “Otherwise, I would have had to turn you away.”

Ino only huffed before looking away, a blush on her face. Sakura sighed, turning her attention back to the chakra on her hands.

However, after years of practicing the jutsu, it required little concentration. Her mind began to wander and she looked at Ino, lying on the examination table with her face turned away.

Ino had always been beautiful, but for some reason, seeing her now after weeks apart, her beauty was even more striking. Her body cast a lovely figure on the examination table. Her eyes, which were often harsh and cold, always seemed soft in Sakura’s presence. 

But it was Ino’s hair that always took the center stage for Sakura.

While Sakura kept her hair cropped short, Ino’s hair had grown ever longer, hovering below her waist. Even without touching it, Sakura could smell a faint hint of Ino’s flowery shampoo. She wondered if Ino would give her permission to comb her fingers through it. It looked silky smooth.

“How long does it take you to wash your hair, Ino?” Sakura asked curiously, her hands still working on closing the wound. “It looks like a lot of work.”

“Oh! Um... yeah, it takes a while,” Ino answered, blushing for some reason, her feet fidgeting. “But I... I think I like how it looks now. Do--” she swallowed. “Do you think it looks good?”

Sakura smiled. “I think it looks great, Ino. It really suits you.”

Ino’s blush, which had been only a hint of pink, deepened. Fascinated, Sakura watched the red sweep over her face. With a huff, Ino looked away from Sakura again.

Sakura smiled. It was rare to see Ino so unfettered. She guessed the mission had been difficult if it was making her friend act so strange.

“Oh... uh... thank you, Billboard Brow,” Ino muttered, unable to meet Sakura’s eyes. She fidgeted in nervous tension but her arm remained still in Sakura’s hands. “So... uh... how’s your life going?” she continued. “What have you been doing?”

Sakura’s smile widened at Ino’s stilted attempts to make conversation. “Not much,” she admitted. “Just working and making notes for ways to improve the hospital system here in Konoha.”

“Dating anyone?” Ino bit her lip at that question, turning back Sakura with eyes full of some strange emotion.

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Not right now. I have other things to worry about.”

For some reason, Ino’s eyes filled with relief and she smiled. “How come, Billboard Brow? Haven’t found anyone that meets your standards?”

Sakura chuckled. “I’m not sure what kind of person I’m looking for anymore, to be honest.”

“Someone like Sasuke?”

Sakura huffed. “Been there. Done that. Too much drama.”

“Naruto?”

“Gross. He’s like a brother at this point.”

“Sai?”

“Do you want to get punched?”

Ino laughed at that before smirking up at her. “Well, if no men are tickling your fancy right now, maybe you should look somewhere else.”

“Look where?”

“Maybe you don’t need a man at all.”

Sakura hummed, trying to understand Ino’s words, but her mind drew a blank. 

Ino said nothing else and Sakura focused on using her chakra to heal the injury. In the back of her mind, however, she couldn’t stop thinking about Ino’s words. What did she mean when she said Sakura didn’t need a man at all?

“Well, I’m done,” Sakura said with a sigh as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “I closed the injury so it’s unlikely to leave a scar. I think you know what to do. Keep it clean and disinfected. All that basic stuff.”

“Oh! Well, that was faster than I thought.” Ino’s eyes were open wide in surprise. She sat up, flexing her arm. Satisfied, she looked up at Sakura with a smile. “Feels good, Billboard Brow.”

“I’m glad.” Sakura grinned at her sincerely. “I guess I’ll talk to you later. I’m waiting for Kurenai-sensei and Mirai to arrive.”

“Oh!” Ino’s eyes widened and she bit her lip. 

With a swallow, she stood up from the examination table and walked toward the exit. She hesitated for a second, her gaze shifting from the door back to Sakura as she continued to bite her lip.

“What is it Ino Pig?” Sakura demanded. “I still have a lot of patients to see today.”

Ino swallowed, blushing for a reason Sakura couldn’t hope to understand. She shook her head. “It’s nothing Billboard Brow,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

Sakura raised one eyebrow. “See you later.”

Ino hesitated for a second longer, seeming to be thinking about saying something. However, before Sakura could get her to talk, she left. For some reason, her face was flushed and she refused to meet Sakura’s eyes as she closed the door behind her.

Sakura stared after her, confused. Ino was not the type of person to hide her feelings and her strange shyness was starting to worry Sakura. She vowed to talk to Shikamaru and Chouji as soon as she got the chance. Something strange must have happened during their last mission to have Ino acting like that.

But first... Sakura had her other patients to deal with.

With a tired sigh, she left her examination room and headed to the front desk of her clinic, waiting for Kurenai and Mirai to arrive.

**O-O-O-O-O**

With her appointments finished for the day, Sakura left her office late in the evening, the streets dark and mostly desolate.

Yawning, she decided to go to Ichiraku Ramen before heading home. Perhaps Naruto had rubbed off on her, but it had become one of her favorite haunts for a late-night meal.

She pulled back the curtain and stepped inside the small restaurant. She was pleasantly surprised to find Shikamaru and Chouji, slurping bowls of ramen at the counter.

“Shikamaru! Chouji!” she greeted, walking toward them and sitting at the stool next to Shikamaru. “How are you guys?”

“Oh! Sakura!” Chouji returned her greeting through a mouth full of noodles, waving his hand back and forth.

“Well enough,” Shikamaru drawled, resting his chopsticks on top of the bowl. “And you?”

“Just another boring day,” she admitted with a shrug. “Saw some patients, including Kurenai-sensei and Mirai. Ino came by too. Said you just got back from a mission.” She turned her attention to the chef behind the counter. “Just one bowl of miso ramen for me, please, Teuchi-san.”

The man nodded and Sakura settled back in her seat. As she waited, she talked to Shikamaru and Chouji and listened to details about their patrol mission.

A few minutes later, a steaming bowl of fresh ramen was placed under her nose. She dug into her meal, slurping her noodles almost as quickly as Chouji.

“Ino told me you got seriously injured on your mission?” Sakura asked Chouji as she took a short break from eating, her bowl almost empty. “Should you really be eating so much when you’re still recovering?” She gave the large stack of empty bowls in front of Chouji a critical glare.

“Who? Me?” Chouji pointed to himself, eyes wide and confused. “I wasn’t injured! I was--”

Shikamaru shoved an elbow into Chouji’s side before he could say anything else. Chouji’s eyes widened in some sort of realization and he shook his head.

“I mean-- yes! I got really injured. Really bad. Hurt. Almost died.” He gave her a tentative smile, trying to make it sincere but failing miserably. 

On Chouji’s other side, Shikamaru sighed, obviously finding the conversation bothersome. Sakura only grew annoyed.

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Doesn’t seem like it, considering how many bowls of ramen you have already eaten.”

Chouji cringed as a bead of sweat began to roll down his face. Shikamaru sighed again, shaking his head. There was something they were not telling her about the mission and it was starting to get under her skin. She wondered if it had something to do with why Ino had been acting so strangely back at her office.

“I don’t think you got seriously injured on your mission after all,” Sakura theorized, glaring at the two men at the counter. “What happened? Why did Ino lie to me about running out of chakra?”

Nobody said anything, the atmosphere cold as Sakura glared at the two men, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She would stay like that for hours if necessary.

Shikamaru broke first. “Fine, Ino didn’t run out of chakra on our mission.”

Sakura focused her annoyance on him. She grunted to encourage him to keep talking.

“She could have healed her own injury,” he continued. “She lied to you about running out of chakra.

“Why?” Sakura asked.

Shikamaru paused and looked at her, his eyes clear and calculating. He seemed to consider his thoughts before speaking. Sakura waited, one finger tapping her arm impatiently.

“I can’t tell you why,” Shikamaru declared. 

Sakura huffed and she leaned in closer to glare at the two men in front of her. “And why not?”

“Because it’s not our secret to tell,” Chouji said. 

Unlike Shikamaru, he seemed embarrassed about his secrecy. Sakura vowed that if she ever had children, she would make him the godfather.

“You should ask Ino if you really want to know,” Shikamaru said. “She wanted to tell you something but she was too much of a coward to say it in the end.”

“Ino? A coward?” Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes. “Ino is not a coward.”

“She is for some things,” Shikamaru said. “Though if you manage to get it out of her, you might understand why.”

“And you won’t tell me?”

“Sorry, Sakura-san.” Chouji was sweating more and more profusely the longer the conversation lasted but at least his apology sounded sincere. “Ino made me promise not to tell.”

Annoyed, Sakura slurped the last of her noodles. She slammed her payment down on the counter, overpaying slightly and not bothering to count exact change. After thanking Teuchi for the meal, she left the restaurant and headed immediately to Ino’s apartment. While it was late and she knew she should wait for the next day, her anger took precedence. 

Sakura ran to Ino’s home, her fury growing every step she took. 

Ino was many things, but a liar was not one of them. What was so special or embarrassing about what she had wanted to say? Did Ino want something from her? Why had Ino gone to her office when she could have healed herself? It didn’t make any sense!

Furious, she almost began to pound on Ino’s front door before remembering the other woman lived in an apartment building. Suppressing her anger, she knocked on the door, perhaps a bit more forcefully than necessary.

Tapping her foot, she waited. To her relief, the door opened only a few seconds later.

“Who is it?”

Sakura’s breath caught in her throat and for a second she forgot why she had come. Ino stood at the entrance in a silk nightgown that, while it covered more than her usual outfit, somehow accentuated her body more. Sakura pushed away the temptation to ask Ino to take it off. 

“Sakura!” Ino gasped, looking at Sakura with her eyes open wide in surprise. “I...” she swallowed, her face turning a slight pink color. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Huh?” Sakura’s mind grew blank and became filled with thoughts of Ino’s body. She tried to remember why she had come. When had her friend gotten so breathtaking? 

“W-what are you doing here, Sakura?” Ino continued. “Did you forget something?”

“What?” Sakura blinked, feeling her own face heating up. 

She shook her head, forcing herself to remember the events of the past hour. The memories rushed into her brain and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring at the other woman.

“I talked to Shikamaru and Chouji,” she began. “They told me the truth.”

“Th-the truth?” Ino stuttered, biting her lip. The motion sent a wave of some strange emotion coursing down Sakura’s spine.

Sakura nodded, trying to ignore her body’s strange reactions. “They told me you _didn’t_ run out of chakra on the mission.”

“Oh! They told you about that!” For some reason, Ino sighed and placed the palm of her right hand over her heart in relief. “I thought they told you about--” she cut herself off, blushing furiously before staring at the ground.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and began to tap her foot on the ground. “Told me about what?”

Ino bit her lip, her face a luminescent red as she stared at the ground. “That I--” she swallowed, still unable to meet Sakura’s eyes. “That I like you.”

“Huh? What?” Sakura tilted her head to the side. She rolled her eyes. “Well, okay I like you too, Ino.”

Ino shook her head, her face growing, if possible, an even darker shade of red. “I don’t just like you,” she continued. “I like _like_ you.”

Sakura blinked. She looked at Ino, fidgeting at the entrance with her fists clenched onto the cloth of her silky nightgown. Her brain was blank, trying to understand and find a way to respond to Ino’s confession. 

Finally, after what felt like hours later, she felt her entire body turn red as her mind understood Ino’s words.

“You... what!?” Sakura shouted, forgetting she was still standing outside of an apartment building in the night. She began to wave her hands back and forth, Ino’s actions finally starting to make sense.

“Is that... did you...” Sakura swallowed, staring down at the ground. “Did you really refuse to heal your own injury _just_ to have an excuse to talk to me?”

Ino screeched and covered her face with the palms of her hands, as embarrassed as Sakura. “Shut up, Billboard Brow!” she shouted. “When you put it that way it makes it sound really stupid!”

“That’s because it _is_ stupid!” Sakura yelled back.

“Don’t talk to _me_ about stupid!” Ino retorted. “You were the one that didn’t see any of my signs!”

“How was I supposed to know that’s what you meant!”

“It’s obvious to everyone! Except you, apparently.”

“Ino Pig!” Sakura ran out of clever retorts and stepped closer, their faces only a few inches apart. Her anger and annoyance were doing more to push away her embarrassment than anything else.

“Billboard Brow!” Ino followed her lead, taking a step closer to Sakura. Just like her, she seemed to be finding their argument easier than trying to talk about their feelings.

They stared at each other, half-angry and half-embarrassed, with no idea of what to say to each other.

“Shut up!” someone opened a nearby window to yell at them. “Some of us are trying to sleep!”

With that, the tension broke and Sakura realized how close she had been standing to Ino. Embarrassed, she almost jumped away, but she stopped herself. Ino was so close that she only had to take half a step closer for their bodies to meet. The thought of touching Ino was not as strange as it was earlier.

Sakura spoke first. “Well...” she swallowed. “I guess we really should be a bit quieter,” she admitted.

Ino nodded, still not breaking the strange tension that had grown between them. “Do you...” she bit her lip, her cheeks tinted with pink. Still, she did not break eye contact with Sakura. “Do you want to come in? I think... I think we need to talk.”

Sakura felt her own face grow red again and she nodded. “I think we do.”

Ino took a step back, allowing Sakura to enter her apartment. As she took off her shoes at the door, Sakura hoped they would be able to do more than talk. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Morket and Donut for helping me look through the story. Y’all the best.
> 
> I’m available on Tumblr at waffledogwrites.


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